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IM+ Update Adds Neighbors Service for Finding Friends Nearby

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The popular IM+: Instant Messaging application from Shape Services has just been updated to introduce an innovative new feature called ‘Neighbors’, which offers users the ability to find new friends in their vicinity who share the same common interests.

When users are signed into the Neighbors service, they will be greeted by a map that allows them to locate and chat with friends in their area, post and view local announcements, and initiate conversations with other people nearby.

DreamBoard – Reinvent Your iOS Home Screens

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And they say iOS isn’t customizable… Fortunately for jailbreakers, it certainly is! DreamBoard, a $2.99 tweak that’s available in Cydia, will completely reinvent the way your home screens look. It’s very easy to use, and there are a number of different themes available. Check them out below!

PhotoForge2 Promises to be the Most Ambitious iPhone Photo App Yet

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Wow. Is developer GhostBird really shoe-horning this much functionality into the second iteration of their legendary photo-editing app, PhotoForge? Looks like they’ve crammed practically every post-processing tool and feature on the planet into what will probably amount to an under-$5 app: curves, real layer support (including masking), ability to edit raw files (and images up to 20MB), editing timeline and a big pile of sharing options.

Add to that a smorgasbord of filters that simulate papers, processes, cameras and you’ve got the makings of what looks like the killer photo app. GhostBird also claims fast processing times — how they’re able to pull this one off, and just how fast it’ll clock on the slower processors of the 3G/s is the big question, though; we’ll know in a couple of weeks, the timeframe the developer has suggested for the app’s release.

The iKeyboard Tries To Bring Touch Typing To The iPad

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I just don’t get this Kickstarter project. Called the iKeyboard, the idea is to make the iPad easier to touch type on without adding bulk to either your iPad or your gadget bag.

But as a guy who does a lot of touch typing throughout the day, I’ve got to say, I’m a bit mystified by how exactly trying to type through a bunch of rectangular holes is going to make iPad writing easier for me.

New Slim iPhone 4 Case Docks With Removable Battery

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It sounds like the poster boy (or product) for “have your cake and eat it too”: Third Rail Mobility‘s new backpack-battery system is a slim case (callled the Slim Case, just to be confusing) that allows their removable 1250 mAh Smart Battery to snap on. Smart? Heck, the battery sounds like a genius: Besides being able to power other electronic devices off its micro USB port, “stacked Smart Batteries will automatically and seamlessly transfer power to create as many fully-charged batteries as possible,” says the press release.

The whole kit runs $90, or the case and battery can be bought individually for $40 and $60, respectively. And right now, it’s only available for the iPhone 4 (Android flavors coming soon).

Linex Sues Apple, Tries To Rid U.S. Of All MacBooks

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If you’re read this expecting to see Linus Torvalds and Steve Jobs exchange body blows in court, read the headline again: that homophone can be confusing, the ‘e’ matters and the company we’re talking about here is Linex, a Florida company that licenses wireless technology.

Even so, Linex and Apple are revving up to go to court, and if Linex has its way, the import of all MacBooks will be banned, along with Apple’s Airport Extreme and Time Capsule products.

Apple Sales Cool, Now Merely White Hot

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Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video - http://flic.kr/p/9oWG7s
Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video - http://flic.kr/p/9oWG7s

Are Apple sales cooling off? That’s the belief of one Wall Street analyst who tells investors Wednesday the Cupertino, Calif. firm may have seen a 7 percent drop in April sales, compared to a historical increase of nearly 5 percent increase for the third quarter. But when we’re talking about Apple, a “slowdown” needs to be put in some context.

Smash and Grab Apple Store Thieves Look Like Pros

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This is the latest smash-and-grab theft to hit an Apple store in the US. The security cam shows head-to-toe black clad thieves who broke into the store in Crocker Park, Ohio at 4:30 am.

They move like pros — unlike earlier smash and grabs, where you can see the idea was just to break in and load up with Apple goodness — each one runs to a specific area for loot.

In about 30 seconds, they have loaded up large black duffel bags with stolen goods and are out of the store. Police say they snatched 24 laptops and an iPod.

Breaking those trademark Apple retail glass storefronts has become such an epidemic that the FBI is investigating whether there are professional gangs.

DUI Checkpoint Apps May Vanish After Senator Demands Review

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iOS applications that alert drivers to DUI checkpoints and speed traps could soon be pulled from the App Store following a review by Apple that will determine whether or not these applications are illegal.

Guy Tribble, Apple’s Vice President of Software Technology, told senators during a U.S. Senate subcommittee yesterday that the company is currently looking into the legality of these applications, and will pull them if they are breaking the law.

“Apple Screwed Us,” Says iFlow Reader Devs

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Photo by pamhule - http://flic.kr/p/8ntpyz
Photo by pamhule - http://flic.kr/p/8ntpyz

While a number of publishers ink special deals with Apple to bring their content to the App Store, Apple’s new in-app purchasing rules are forcing publishing middle men out of business. That’s the message from the creators of iFlow Reader, which just shut down.

“We put our faith in Apple and they screwed us,” Philip Huber of BeamItDown Software told users. The developer got squeezed between Apple’s demand for a 30 percent cut and other expenses. “Our gross margin on ebooks after paying the wholesaler is less than 30 percent, which means that we would have to take a loss on all ebooks sold,” Huber explained.

Former Acer CEO: iPad Is Killing The PC

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Now that several reports show the iPad eating into sales of traditional low-cost PCs, the blame game has begun – starting with Acer. You may recall Apple sales in the U.S. recently surpassed Acer, which fell 42 percent. The computer maker’s former CEO now blames the company’s slowness in responding to the iPad threat.

“I already saw if we want to become a major player in this new world, we needed to do certain investments, mainly on software and on smartphones and tablets, on touch,” ex-CEO Gianfranco Lanci told a blog earlier this week. Lanci resigned in late March amid reports he was blamed for the iPad cannibalizing Acer’s market.

Apple Pulls iAds From Kids Apps

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iAd slots in iOS applications designed for children will no longer be filled with adverts, according to an email one developer has received from Apple.

Mike Zornek, the developer of the Dex a Pokemon browser application for iPhone and iPod touch, noticed that his iAd fill rates had dropped and emailed Apple’s iAd Support Team for an explanation: